Even after mulling it over a couple of days, I can't decide if Motorama has some deep meaning OR if it's just weird for the sake of being weird...."not that there's anything wrong with that" (last quote was for all of you Seinfeld junkies). I do know that it was beautifully shot and the direction was spot on and surprisingly, especially since the star is a 10 year old boy (in real life, I think he was 12), the acting was top notch.
Motorama begins with Gus working in his basement while his parents argue upstairs. We find he's working on a set of leg extensions, which will enable him to drive the cherry red Mustang he has stolen. Gus leaves on a cross country trip through what can only be described as The United States in an alternate reality. Along the way, he becomes obsessed with collecting contest cards from Chimera Gas Stations. Collecting all of the letters M-O-T-O-R-A-M-A will make Gus eligible for the $500 million cash prize.
For most of the movie, Motorama is pure road movie, as Gus travels from gas station to gas station collecting Motorama Cards and meeting different characters along his journey. A few of these meetings are where this blog and Motorama cross paths. The first is when Gus cashes in his piggy bank change at the bank, the teller is Martha Quinn of MTV fame. Later in the movie, Gus crosses paths with two actual musicians: When Gus is eating at a restaurant he meets a dimwitted bus boy played by Flea from The Red Hot Chili Peppers. Later in the movie, Gus goes into a biker bar where he is forced into an arm wrestling contest with one of the guys hanging out there, Vern, who is played by Meat Loaf. Although he isn't in the movie, Andy Summers of The Police composed the soundtrack for Motorama.
I'm not going to delve very much into the plot, since I think Motorama is best watched without the viewer having a lot of prior knowledge of what is going to happen. I will tell you that the last 15 minutes might throw you for a loop and cause you to say WTF. Speaking of a WTF moment there is a "bonus trailer" on the DVD, which turns out to be for Joe Dirt starring David Spade. Much like myself, this may cause you once again to say WTF, but then again, maybe it's just the perfect mindbender ending for the DVD.
I couldn't find a trailer on youtube for Motorama, however, you can watch the whole movie in parts there. Instead I'm including a video of Meat Loaf doing a great version of Ram Jam's "Black Betty", a song that will always make you drive your car just a little faster.
I love this movie so much. I remember being captivated by it as a kid in elementary school. For YEARS I couldn't remember what it was called and whenever I described it to people, they had no clue what I was talking about. Now, on my 28th birthday, I've rediscovered it and watched it all over again with an entirely different, grown-up mindset.
ReplyDeleteI truly feel like this movie is some sort of metaphor for the long road of life. Everyone in life is playing their own "MOTORAMA" and devoted to chasing down all the pieces for in hopes of gaining quick riches, but in the end, none of that stuff really matters. That's why Gus ends up at the gas station at the end. He's been "Full-Filled". That's also why the Vegas millionaire shows up at the end, to show us what Gus could have become. The Chimera people threw him back in time and gave him a second chance at working an honest job for a living and starting fresh.
For some reason, I keep comparing the Chimerans to The Matrix movies. The Motorama game was their Matrix to keep the population occupied and pacified, but Gus was "the chosen one" who somehow got a hold of the "R" piece, even though Chimera developed the game so that no one could ever get the R.
I could write paragraphs and paragraphs on this film, but instead I'll just say this: If you have an open mind, look for the deeper meanings in things instead of just taking them at face value, enjoy ORIGINAL story telling, bizarre 90's surrealism, and awesome cameos, then you'll love "Motorama."
Really enjoyed your comments, Thanks for sending them along.
DeleteFunny..... The gas stations are Chimera.... The kid only has one eye at the end.... he meets his older self with a hamsa on his dash board.... and the final 4 letters he needs ARE TORA.... THEN FINALLY R .... OR RESH..... THE HEAD....DEFINITELY Qabalistic references all over this film. NOT A MISTAKE....
ReplyDeleteYou definitely have a point.
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